Destroy and Create

I joke that I can really destroy a kitchen. But if you know me well I am not joking! Some weeks are low on recipes, under 5, but some are at 15 at a high and it can get out of hand quickly! Here are some of the documented kitchen creations... not all inclusive...

I'm really into fermented foods right now, having almost all patients include them daily if possible. I love to be able to create my own anything, especially if I am asking clients to do the same. Gotta perfect a few things but I'm almost there!

Water kefir and grains

 Yummiest and easiest saurkraut

 Fermenting for 3 days

 Pre-frost garden finds

 Thanksgiving appetizer was a crunchy salad of grapes, celery, carrots, parsley, and a vegan ranch. The dressing tastes quite amazing but it has a lot of processed ingredients so I can't say it's a favorite from a health perspective. But from a tummy perspective it tastes really yummy! Belgian endive is such a great "cracker" if you want something lighter. It does have a bite though!

 Can't get enough zoodles...

 Farmstands were booming up until a couple of weeks ago. There is a pomegranate stand nearby which provided Ara and I many snacks and red lips!

 We do a lot of roasted vegetables and despite how many different kinds I roast Owen ONLY eats the potatoes. But a mama has to keep trying! The beet stars were only devoured by me but they had fun playing with their food.

 These dried persimmons were ridiculously good. I wish I had more persimmons, they were like candy. I sliced them thinly and dehydrated overnight around 135 and they were crisp. They were a tasty snack and we quickly ate up the 4 that I dried. I think we need to plant some more fruit trees. We battle the deer and frost so much that our newer trees struggle. The well established plum, cherry, and apple trees do really well, so that is good.

School snacks

Owen continues to have specific preferences... He has come a long way in the oral aversion department, and now is one of those kids who touches his face and mouth all the time... Ugh just in time for kindergarten:(. 

Being a dietitian I truly have let a lot go with Owen to first get him off of relying on tube feeding. Then with his gagging continuing he limits himself on trying new things. Then there is the "normal" kid aspect of all this as well. I'm super stoked to say he eats an awesome variety of proteins now! The big lacking area is fruit, so I'm always attempting to sneak it in somehow. 

I made these snacks and he enjoys them! They aren't fresh but I'll take what I can get!

He will eat dehydrated peach and Apple "chips" as well as plantain chips. Apple and pear are the only fresh fruits he will eat:(.

My second batch turned out great. My first batch of fruit snacks (this go around,... I made them about a year ago) stuck to the paper... I thought I used parchment but I used waxed paper... Let's just blame that one on sleep deprivation okay?

Cut, roll, and store in freezer! These have plums, pineapple, and strawberries- that's it! I was so happy to watch him eat it, and ask for it again when I sent it in his lunch. Baby steps! I'm guessing one fruit strip has about 1/4 cup of fruit- I'll take what I can get!!

Just sittin on eggs

Henny spent the month of May sitting on eggs. We've never "allowed" them to do so, but I figured we would let it ride. It really was fun to check the eggs, mark them, and to have the hope that a chick may come out of the ordeal. Well 21 days passed, 28 days passed, and then into the upper 30's. A broody hen only leaves her eggs 1 maybe 2 times per day, thus losing body weight, making horridly huge broody poops, and attempting to hydrate and eat in her quick break. Therefore, it really isn't good for a hen to brood too long. 

 It was fun but no chicks hatched. And we didn't get many eggs to eat...

 The hollyhocks started to bloom, which is one of the signs that summer is here~

  A volunteer sunflower about 4 feet tall at the time.

 My helper bringing egg cartons down to the chicken yard.

 These two spend hours playing and jumping. We had a relaxing afternoon watching airplanes, birds, and bugs fly by. We were laying on the trampoline for almost an hour!

Plum tuckered out

 One of my favorite garden sights is seeds emerging into plants. Just in this little part of dirt these sprouts are in different stages of growth, even though we planted them at the same time. That's a good reminder that we're all on our own time.

 These littles are great helpers. The metal bucket has chicken scratch in it which they share with the chickens in plentiful amounts daily. This quick snapped shot also shows them sharing with each other which is just lovely!

 Another quick snapshot~ Twins~ I haven't really realized how  much they look alike until I stared at this photo for a while. They really have the same squinty happy eyes!

 Potato harvesting was a let down this year. The drip system wasn't watering that raised bed very well so the early heat of June did not help the plants thrive. We usually harvest mid July but we pulled them out a month early.

                     Digging for treasures

 One of Gramp's old hats and a stick makes for a nice scarecrow.

 Zinnia fever is coming!!

 O helping me thin out the asparagus plants.

 Zinnias and asparagus

 Water is SO enticing to play with~

 Ooops found some plums from last year in the deep freezer... When this years tree was almost ready... We also went blueberry picking a couple of times in June and they made for a sweet galette treat.

 Very hard to see but we had a family of wild turkeys live on our property for about a week. They had 3 babies which were so sweet to watch run around the property.

Nasty! These are all over this month, inside the house mostly.

 Helping pick cherries~

 Taking in the morning~

 Owen calls them dust buddies~ chickens roll in the dirt to "clean" their feathers and body

Gadzooks!

I can't believe the time! It just passes. So much for weekly posts... Yipes! 

Alls glorious here. Kids have colds, hopefully not too bad. I've been cooking, canning, and needing to finish a sewing project. Chris has been burning some old burn piles, finished installing the free play set from nana and papa, welding a chicken gate, administering our llama medication, and repairing the zip line. The homestead is a fun place to hang... Good thing!

Worm hunting 

Mustard greens eating kids 

Power wheels shenanigans 

Play set and mud fun 

Beef stew, kale soup

And lots of chai concentrate... So so good!!! 

Homemade holidays

This This Christmas was just awesome! I've decided not to break down every last celebration as I usually do because I'm seriously pooped! 5 Christmases in 2 weeks is a lot, plus fun work parties and other family birthdays leaves the kids hungover on toys and other homes and is just hungover. I kid!! We have gotten a glimpse of decent sleep (talkin a 5 hour stretch once a week, wahoo!!) I'll take it!

This year I really attempted to make some gifts.... Last year with a new baby and limited mobility and owen on lock down I did a heck of a lot of online shopping. That happened this year as well but I also got crafty like it was my job !

Homemade sauerkraut 

Mens shirt toddler frock and bow

Granola & bean soup mixes

Nanas reversible apron

Room scents to boil

Vanilla Rosemary lemon & thyme mint (from the property of course;)!

Vegan tart chewy and beautiful

This post was fun to put together but the crafts were more fun! I would like to say I met my goals but I didn't... I wanted to make a few frocks, a few sleeping bags, but the evening time was limited. So much fun to share homemade goodies!